1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to doped Group III-V nitride materials, e.g., aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN), gallium nitride (GaN) and indium gallium nitride (InGaN) materials, methods of forming such materials, and microelectronic devices and device precursor structures comprising such materials.
2. Description of the Related Art
Group III/V nitride semiconductors have significant potential as useful materials in high-temperature, high frequency and high power microelectronics and ultra-violet/blue/green optoelectronics by virtue of their wide bandgaps, high thermal conductivities and large electrical breakdown fields.
Microelectronic device applications include AlGaN—GaN multilayer-based laser diodes, high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs), field effect transistors (FETs), heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs), light emitting diodes (LEDs) and ultra-violet photodetectors, as well as (Al,In,Ga)N-based devices generally, including devices for high-frequency, high-power communications, for high-density optical storage, full-color displays, and for other wide bandgap semiconductor applications.
Aluminum gallium nitride (AlGaN) and gallium nitride (GaN) materials are particularly promising Group III-V nitride materials for next generation electronic and optoelectronic devices for wireless and optical communications systems. Nonetheless, Group III-V nitride materials have inherent limitations that pose challenges to their development and deployment.
More specifically, there is a need to improve the doping of III-V nitride semiconductor materials, to achieve the following:                a) increased carrier mobility;        b) broader doping ranges;        c) reduced dopant activation energy;        d) reduced resistivity associated with concurrent improvements of increased carrier mobility and broader doping ranges;        e) enhanced reproducibility of characteristics a)-d).        f) elimination of the need to activate the dopant impurity or alternatively of reducing the temperature/time requirement for dopant activation;        g) removal of active areas changes to the nitride material induced through incorporation of the impurity;        h) minimization of the changes to the nitride material resulting from incorporation of the dopant impurity; and        i) ability to selectively vary the properties of the doped III-V nitride material, e.g., resistivity (in contrast to (d) above, it may be desirable in some applications to increase resistivity, or to otherwise vary other material properties).        
The art has not satisfactorily resolved these issues, which are addressed by the present invention.